Layer 1 blockchain Story secures $80M in Series B funding led by a16z

PIP Labs, the software company behind Story Protocol, a Layer 1 blockchain designed for intellectual property management, announced Wednesday it secured $80 million in a Series B funding round led by a16z, with participation from Polychain. The round values PIP Labs at $2.25 billion and boosts Story’s total capital to $140 million.

Story has been developed with a mission to transform the way intellectual property (IP) is handled in the digital age by making it programmable. The company said it seeks to tokenize the $2 trillion IP asset class, turning it into “IP Legos,” a framework for programmable, on-chain IP assets.

The protocol aims to solve the issue of big tech profiting from creators’ content without fair compensation, said Seung Yoon Lee, co-founder and CEO of PIP Labs. The goal is to empower creators, unlock new monetization opportunities, and foster a more collaborative and equitable digital ecosystem.

“Big tech is stealing IP without consent and capturing all the profit,” Lee stated. “First, they will gobble up your IP for their AI models without any compensation back. Then, they will hijack your future economics by sucking in all your potential traffic.

“Story will ensure a sustainable and flourishing path for the internet’s creativity that benefits both creators and AI, without any intermediaries,” he noted.

The platform enables creators to build communities of fans who can remix, distribute, and sell their IP, according to Lee. Creators can declare ownership and set usage terms for their IP, unlocking new revenue streams through IP licensing and remixing.

Story is designed to work seamlessly with AI, allowing for easier licensing and compensation, the CEO added. Jason Zhao, co-founder and CPO of PIP Labs, described Story as “IP Legoland” where IP can be easily remixed and composed.

Discussing the potential of Story, Chris Dixon, founder and managing partner at a16z crypto, said that the traditional internet economy is changing due to AI, and Story Protocol is providing the tools necessary for a new, fairer model where creators are rewarded for their contributions.

“Blockchains are perfectly suited for large-scale economic coordination, and Story’s platform ensures creators are compensated for their IP feeding the AI systems,” said Dixon.

Story is preparing for its mainnet launch, expected later this year. The development is based on the Cosmos SDK and is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine.